1/09/2008 @ 6:00PM

In Pictures: 20 Trends Sweeping The Globe

Down A Molecular Cocktail

Put a mad scientist behind the bar and you get molecular mixology–an outgrowth of the molecular gastronomy movement pioneered by Spanish chef Ferran Adrià at his Catalonian restaurant El Bulli. The style seeks to apply scientific principles to cooking. Now, bartenders from London to Hong Kong are taking the trend to the next level, serving up cocktails in the form of edible foams, papers and orbs. Some of the more complicated recipes require ingredients like Pop Rocks (carbonated candy), liquid nitrogen, baking soda, and nitrous oxide–and a laboratory’s worth of beakers.